If you have decided you need to get serious about client data protection, you will need to consider encrypting both your data and your communications. We have previously covered how to encrypt your data and will focus here on how to encrypt your email communication.

What Is Encryption?

Simply by using the Internet, you are probably using some sort of encryption scheme during some activities, whether you know it or not.

Encryption is simply the act of turning your data into unreadable gibberish. If your data is intercepted or hacked, the thief now has nothing but a pile of garbage.

End-to-end encryption is a must for transferring sensitive data across the internet. In end-to-end encryption, your data is encrypted while it travels towards your intended location and the same encryption occurs on the reverse trip. Your bank (hopefully) uses end-to-end encryption. Your practice management software (hopefully) uses end-to-end encryption if it stores and syncs data remotely. This sort of encryption is done for you without any effort on your part, as it is just a standard feature of the infrastructure you are using to bank or update client data or similar activities.

Why Do You Need to Care?

A few years ago, the ABA issued a formal ethics opinion stating that if there is a significant risk that a third party might gain access to the email, attorneys have to warn clients about that risk.

This poses a problem, because unlike your bank and practice management software, email is usually unencrypted. This is true whether you are using a desktop client or a web-based email like GMail. . . .

Federal Judge Rules Gmail Account Can Be Accessed For Investigation, by evanino in Evanino Blog

In a landmark ruling that might fuel a nationwide debate, the New York Court issued a warrant against Google, giving access to user emails.

A New York Court issued a warrant against Google Inc ruling that the government can access all mails of a Gmail account of an individual under a money laundering probe. The judge said that courts have long been waiting for law enforcement to take the required documents in the custody if it is within the purview of the warrant.

Contrary to previous rulings

This decision is not in line with the previous court rulings including courts in the Districts of Columbia and Kansas, Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York noted on Friday. Also, this latest ruling will spark a debate over the privacy, in the country, according to Computer World.

A District of Columbia judge denied from revealing the entire content of the email as this will seize a large amount of emails for which the authorities have not given any reason.

The Court in Kansas, also, did not rule in favor of a similar warrant, stating that it failed to ‘limit the universe of electronic communications and information to be turned over to the government to the specific crimes being investigated.’

However, the New York Court ruled in favor of such warrant, allowing authorities to take into account the emails and other information from a Google inc’s Gmail account, including the address book and draft mails, and also the authority to search the emails for certain specific categories of evidence.

Experts must scan emails, not Google employee

Judge Gorenstein argued that it is not possible to search the hard-disk drives of computers and other storage devices on the spot due to the complexities of electronic searches. Thus, the authorities can seize such storage.

‘We perceive no constitutionally significant difference between the searches of hard drives just discussed and searches of email accounts,’ the judge wrote. He added that in most of the cases data in an email account will be less ‘expansive’ compared to the information contained in the hard drive.

Judge Gorenstein stated that Google employees are not expert enough to know the importance of particular emails without having been given proper training in the substance of the investigation. Judge said this in response to an opinion by the District of Columbia court that gave the government the option of getting the email scanned by the host itself.

He said that an agent, who is completely absorbed in the investigation, will be able to understand the importance of a particular language in emails contrary to the employee.

Android users who sync their Google calendars with Outlook received a shocking email:

Important Announcement about Google Calendar Sync

Almost two years ago, we announced that we ended support for Google Calendar Sync. Starting on August 1, 2014, this app will no longer sync events between your Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook Calendar.

As a Google Apps for Business, Education, or Government customer, you can use Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook®.

This is frustrating, because as some folks point out, Microsoft should provide this integration for Outlook users. But the truth is, instead of helping its loyal Android customers, Microsoft wants more people using Windows phones and Office 365. This news makes many Android-Outlook users want to abandon their Android devices all together.

Purely out of coincidence, I have a local friend who emailed me a similar question about syncing his calendar with Outlook:

You know that I am fairly stupid when it comes to this stuff! LOL! I use [a big name telephone company] as my primary email, and too many people have it to change it after so many years. I guess I could keep that as my primary email address and just use Google Calendar exclusively. I just hate to have to log in to use the calendar. Lazy I guess. I do, however, also have a Gmail address! Any suggestions other than ‘using all of Google’s products’?

Stop the insanity: software solutions

There are a number of third party applications available for syncing Google Calendar with Outlook. However, a lot of questions remain about whether Google Calendar will still sync with third party programs.

If you want to test them, here’s a short list of some programs with good reviews:

•gSyncit ($19.99 single license)

•Outlook4Gmail ($19.99 single license)

•Calendar Sync Pro for Outlook ($9.99)

•synqYa

•CompanionLink ($49.95)

I’m not sure how well these will work after the August 1 deadline, though gSyncit indicates they’ve rewritten their program to coordinate with Google’s API demands. If I was going to pick an option, I’d probably select gSyncit based on that statement.

I also suggest you keep up to date with any advances by following this Google products forum thread.

Submit yourself to “the Borg”

I think my friend’s easiest option is to commit himself to Google’s services, and here’s why.

First, no attorneys should be using free Google accounts for their business work. Thus, if you’re using a yourname@gmail.com to send and receive firm and client related information, stop right now. Sign up for a Google Apps account — ask me for a referral partner discount discount code — that offers more features (including no scanning), security, and encryption of email. Having a Google Apps account also enables you to access Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook. . . .

With the Mailtracker app from Answerbook, you’ll never have to utter those words again.

It’s not a mail client in itself, but rather a tracking application for monitoring email analytics. It integrates with the native mail app on your iPhone, so it doesn’t impede your current email sending/receiving workflow. The service is compatible with emails sent via Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook.com and iCloud (with additional account support on the way!).

The Mailtracker app will deliver real-time analytics directly to your phone. You’ll be notified as soon as an email had been read. You can also see how many times the email was viewed, how much time was spent reading the email, the recipient’s location information, and device details. . . .

You may not want or have the skills to build or fix your PC computer. But no doubt there are a few things you would like to do for yourself, such as, recovering a deleted file? What about setting — and keeping — a preferred default font in Word or recovering files after a malware attack? Even if you are tech-challenged, this site answers all types of questions in a language anyone can understand. Browse a while. You may find something that interests you. -CCE

The book includes general tips for working with emails, great strategies for reading, replying to and storing emails, an informative chapter on how email works and tips on fighting spam and email security. No matter what device you use for your email, all of that content is useful.

Sparks then goes deep into the Apple Mail app for the Mac, and this book will be most useful for folks who use a Mac and the built-in mail app. He also reviews many of the best programs for the Mac and apps for the iPhone/iPad that you can use to work with email, and devotes a chapter to Gmail.